Bishop Barron at the Grave of J.R.R. Tolkien

[@Treebeard2436]

Bishop, you are, indeed, a troubadour. Even though you don’t sing your stories, they nevertheless ring sweetly with the melodies of Truth and Grace. May God bless you as well, and I will, indeed, say an Ave for Tolkien and for you today.

[@GinnyandEric]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

[@mish375]

"All that is gold does not glitter" - Tolkien

[@marypinakat8594]

Among my best quotes.

[@tinman1955]

I think I saw Gollum sneaking behind the headstone.

[@antonralph3491]

If you wander die without Christ you are lost

[@marypinakat8594]

@@antonralph3491 It might apply *'just for you'.* Why would you want to create a difficult situation for Christ unnecessarily? I say again, it will apply in your own imagination only, and no farther.

[@YaHa-16-02]

So moving to see Beren & Luthien on the gravestone. Thank you Bishop!

[@Brillemeister]

Tolkien is still inspiring myself and other writers at this very moment. A Catholic among Catholics...God bless

[@LostArchivist]

That is simply an amazing example of how even across time, the Church begets community, as seen in these wonderful literary figures and the saints that made them possible. I did not know they were all so closely connected and it brings me great joy as a writer and a fan of fantasy writing to hear of it. God bless you Bishop Barron for continuing to do the Lord's good work.

[@candyclews4047]

Back in the early 60s, my father read Lord of the Rings to me. As a 6 year old, I was terrified of the Nazgul but also remembered giggling behind my pillow as my father put on deep, dark voices. Loved it all and remained an ardent Tolkein fan. When I converted to Catholicism 40 years later, I like to think Tolkein had played a major part.

[@vincewyn1396]

O Jesus and Mary, teach us: Faith, Hope and Love. Ps 62:1, Lk 11:46 Years later, St. Veronica noted in her Diary: “This poor man seemed more beautiful to me than any other living being I had seen.” 😇 St Veronica Guiliani please pray with us

[@alexgick3152]

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future. -Lady Galadriel

[@Lerian_V]

I'm honored to give this video its 600th like.

[@jonathanstory6802]

Many thanks, Bishop.

[@hankochai]

My kids and I are reading “The Return of the King” - it’s wonderful. Your Excellency, please wear your collar. Thank you & God Bless.

[@mish375]

I just read the books for the first time earlier this year. Excellent. I'll be continuing with the Silmarillion next.

[@marypinakat8594]

hankochai you would certainly have felt better if you gave Bishop Barron a little concession and not mentioned his 'collar.' Honestly. Pass also on to your children *better* values in place of even good ones. Who knows, who knows how difficult it may have been for him to make these videos within time limits? Moreover he also has his own people who assist him. Do I need to tell you that they are normal, good responsible people who along with him give us these videos and take care of him as well, especially while in transit. I don't think neither Bishop nor those with him expected this kind of response.

[@hankochai]

Mary Pinakat That’s an awfully long diatribe in response to a simple request from a laywoman that a bishop wear his collar.

[@marypinakat8594]

@@hankochai Please observe the ill effect of it right before you. Realising a mistake is important.

[@ohmightywez]

I just booked my second annual flight to England for work. I have to be up north in Durham but then I have a few days for myself. I was trying to decide if I should go see one of my beloved Thomases (pl?) Thomas Becket and the candle that marks where his casket lay in Canterbury. I was thinking what a lovely thing to make the ancient pilgrimage in modern times. But I also really want to see Oxford. I will have my Sunday free so where I go I need to find Mass. I click on the Church of St. Aloysius to see what the church looks like and Surprise!!! There is your face and I find it is the very Oratory of Saint John Henry Newman. I suppose I know where I’ll be going. Canterbury will happen some day.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

The more I hear about Tolkien the more I love him.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ThePassiveObserver Do you mean "Larry Flynt"? Also who is he (I hope this indicates my "love" for him as non-existent)?

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ThePassiveObserver I have never said that about a Flintstones character as is indicitive of my previous comments. Where did you get that from?

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ThePassiveObserver What the Gobildigook are you writing about?

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ThePassiveObserver Dude you changed the point of our discussion. Stick to me and my apparent love (which I lack) for a Flintstones character. Also your history is wrong.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@ThePassiveObserver Irony. No. Not how it happened. Also what has this got to do with my love for Tolkien (what you were addressing).

[@malcommountie4326]

best part "Say a prayer for this good man ."

[@marypinakat8594]

Like it.

[@lukeventers4755]

My dad read them to us one chapter at a time when we were kids. Sometimes two (chapters.)... if we would beg and plead for a second.

[@kristinakader1940]

Dear Bishop Barron , May God bless and keep you in the palm of his hands 🤲🏻❤️

[@jsking306]

Great message. Thanks...

[@Paseosguiados]

Thank you!

[@cherylcattanach27]

I am a huge Tolkien fan and recently started reading the Robert Jordan "Wheel of Time" books based on a friend's recommendation, "If you enjoy Tolkien, try Jordan". In your opinion, do the books carry the same strong biblical message (if you are familiar with them)? I believe that Robert Jordan himself was a devout Christian, and the themes in the books could easily be at least implicitly Christian, if not explicitly so.

[@branislavbalasic5173]

Of course. Tolkien, Lewis, Jordan, Sanderson. All of them Christians, all of them great fantasy writers.

[@praxidescentenoortiz9664]

It's amazings All stories had write! 😇😇😇 I didn't see the Lord of rings or read but i know what meanning his writes and it's wonderful, unbelievable, for learn and understand this World. 😇😇😇 Thank you to God for all! Jesús Christ Thank you!

[@andyhello23]

Your not far from stone henge, and avebury circle. I wonder what your views on these places would be. On tolkien, i think anyone whom can represent so much in a few books, and get people to wonder, has a good understanding.

[@19624291a]

God bless bishop barron

[@marques_asecas5894]

That's a pilgrimage right there.

[@RONPAULROADWARRIORS]

God bless you Your Excellency . Ben Shapiro is not seeking Salvation or obeying God. J.R.R. Tolkien is a great son of the Church and he must be a Saint

[@joanofarc6402]

Very very cool.

[@jamescruz7016]

Bishop please comment on the ongoing Synod. People are confused. I think the rest can wait.

[@raymondcanilao1606]

So sad what's going on in Rome these days. Lay people are very confused. It's so hard to stay centered.

[@marypinakat8594]

Anthony Reyes, There has been regular info and updates regarding the Amazon Synod officially. Bishop Barron is not part of the Synod committee.

[@jamescruz7016]

@@marypinakat8594 I agree but they do not respond to the real and decent questions people are asking. Anyway...

[@marypinakat8594]

@@jamescruz7016 Which may be a piece of news you are referring to? Could you help me with a link or something? Thanks.

[@jamescruz7016]

@@marypinakat8594 really? Ok For starters, Check out Word on Fire, itself! right there. Click John Allen...

[@dharmatech]

Bishop, Some Christian denominations take issue with LOTR in that a protagonist (Gandalf) practices magic, an occult practice, which is forbidden in the Bible. These denominations claim that this "normalizes" the occult. Readers will often identify with and be inspired by a protagonist in a story. So in general, I think people take issue with stories where the reader may come to identify with a character which is engaging in acts which are forbidden by the Bible. Is there some place I can read up on the Catholic church's position on this issue? Clearly, they're OK with Tolkien's works. How do they handle the fact that there's a conflict between the Bible and what the characters are promoting in LOTR (pagan practices, magic, etc.). Thank you!

[@TallisKeeton]

for Pete's sake! :) Gandalf was an eternal (not immortal as elves) angelic being of lesser level send by higher level of angels on a mission. He was not a magician from occult sect or satanic sect or whatever :) And Tolkien in his letters clearly denouced "goeteia" or any kind of magicaly subjecting the laws of nature to a persons (mortal) will as futile and dangerous. And whatever I think about "esoteric topics" (IMO there are stupid ideas and there are sensible ideas between those traditions as in any other religions - I can see egsotheric and esotheric traditions as both having the good ideas and bad ideas, as human beings are their creators and human beings are both equipped with good and bad qualities) I know just that we should stick to Tolkien's own interpretation of his works (expressed in his letters and essays) to understand his universum properly without the figment of imaginations :) about his stories from whatever denominations or ideologies it comes. There are those who can see Tolkien as homophobic becouse he didnt wrote anything about gays. :D There are those who can see Tolkien as secretly homosexual becouse his charachters behaviours seem to them (not to him and not to his fans of course) as bordering on homoerotica. There are those who can applaud Tolkien for being left-wing (which he was not he brutaly critisased communism, Stalin etc...), and there are those who can applaud Tolkien for being right-wing (which he was but with many points of differing as it was proper for the thinker he was). There are those who can see in his works a sort of hippies utopia (and think that smoking pipe means smoking marijuana) :D and find it good and there are those who can see it in there but hate the books for it. And there are those who can see in his works a return of proper monarchic political system and those who can see there a promise of bettering of democracy (for me its p bit smt like that). There are those who like to see him as nationalistic (in wrong way) but I think that he was nationalistic in proper, healthy way (as far as I can understand what he said about the topic in his letters). He hated imperialism, and British empire esp for its role in marginalising the native cultures. He prefered little free countries. He deemed himself as English not British. He liked the idea of giving Ireland authonomy and grieved over the occupation of Poland during II WW. And his idea about patriotism was that we cannot see a state as smt to be idealised or totalitarian or smt but for him an aparathus of a state was only a SERVANT who cares for nation and esp nation's native culture. Becouse Tolkien believed that as an individual soul of human developes in its cultural enviroment (national environs) such cultural enviroment must be cared for by the aparathus of state (the servant of national culture, the servant of "sould of a nation") and it was becouse of his spiritual believes about individual person developing from cultural background (national culture - literature and language mostly for him but also music) that he liked the independent state idea (against invading, absorbing and changing empires), not that becouse he was a nationalistic person who liked the idea of one nation dominating other nation. He hated the domination of one nation over others becouse he thought that every nation has a kind of "soul" its own particular creativeness to express to develop and for it to be expressed freely (without dominating by others) a nation must have its caretaker - a free state. And back to your question - for Tolkien theres not any conflict between the teology he believed in and his fictional universum, esp. becouse he said that he strived to not equipped his fictional universum in some clear statements of catholic theology. His myth of creation (Silmarilion) and other myths like a kind of saviour myth (Earendil) are deviating much from being openly catholic teology and it was his goal to NOT express only the teological topics. He said that the secret of Salvation and other teological topics are too high and too great for him to be treated as a material for a novel. But at the same time he said that his work (LOTR) is a novel "religious and catholic". But he didnt put there any clear catholic teology. The only catholicism we can see there is maybe in the behaviours of charachters and in their choices, there is nothing like churches or religion or cult in this stories. But I think that there are great similarities between his values and christian values, and its good for us, his readers as far as I can tell :) And for my taste I like him mostly for this mixture of northern myths and christianity. :)

[@TallisKeeton]

and as to the topic of magic and such :) I never read or watch anyone - from the "environs" of christianity (catholic) - who critisised Tolkien for using a fairytale (it goes usualy with magic and magical beings) to express his spiritual worldview. The only time I read smt against him was when I read one article about the heretic elements in his cosmology - that his universum was not PRECISELY and SORELY in agreement with catholic orthodoxy. (yea, IMO Morgoth - the boss of Sauron - was equipped with some attributes of manicheism demiurg) But it was just one essay. I guess that 9 on 10 catholics would say that they respect Tolkien for making his fairytale novels expressing values and ideals of christianity (mixed with lots of honorable&virtuous northern pagans) :) but not preaching by blinding neon-light allegories as his friend's C.S. Lewis novels did :) In my fandoms environs we call it "the honey which soked into bread" :)

[@nancyjanzen5676]

You should get together with Bishop Daniel Flores. He likes LOTR.

[@tigertrophy1805]

Can't add anything but smoking of longbottom pipe weed with The crew on the Misty Mountains.

[@juliendebourgogne1828]

Bishop, will you be in Oxford next week by any chance ?

[@sideless6706]

Don’t forget to say a prayer for the cause for his canonization as well. Tolkien was a devout daily mass goer and worked hard to convert others to the faith. I also feel that just the investigation would be a great door for many who are fans of his works but have lost or do not know the faith that is only my opinion though. Pray that we may be blessed to witness the opening of the first Saint Tolkien’s Catholic Church.

[@itazenin]

Thanks for the upload Bishop Barron! Anyways i saw this weird post about a guy ranting over a tweet by Fr James lol...i think i now i understand why Fr. James martin questioned if St. John Cardinal Henry Newman was gay, i think its because the actor Ian McKellen is gay, and he portrays Gandalf in the Movie version of the lord of the rings. This just makes me realize that the movie adaptation of peter jackson is not as accurate as the book and may lead to stuff like this. These are just my theories and rambles hahaha

[@rediscoverwithsharona]

Bishop did you notice to you right. Or the other side of the path is TOLKIEN SON grave. Father john Francis Tolkien.

[@deutscheseele]

Hey uncle Rob!

[@marypinakat8594]

BürgerMeister, I'm afraid he doesn't recognise you.

[@johnmattison1209]

What is the likelihood of Tolkien and/or C.S. Lewis being canonized as a saint? I figure C.S. Lewis is unlikely because he was never catholic.

[@kaldwinpoison771]

Time for me to dig him up and use necromancy to bring our lord back

[@ゼロシン]

Tolkien is a great writer what Amazon did is just disgusting adding woke themes in their spin off

[@sebastianmelmoth685]

Just watch and listen to Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen - the REAL core of Tolkien's copy. Sure, Wagner is not as Christian, but he is far more useful morally.

[@anthonybrown9685]

Bishop Barron do you love this protestant?

[@crimsonthumos3905]

JRR Tolkien was a devout Catholic